When Ford announced that the 2013 Shelby GT500 would be punishing the pavement with 650 horses, the world stood up and took notice. Remember, though, these were just estimated figures, as the car had not yet been SAE certified. If reports from the Team Shelby message board prove accurate, the 2013 GT500 has finally gotten its official figures.

I hope they did some work on the suspension and the rear end so you can actually use that power to do something besides go sideways and eat up tires. Power is not had to make, putting that power to the ground is another story.

Anyone will tell you that the problem with the previous Shelby GT500 wasn't a lack of power -- it was actually putting that power down to the ground. The previous GT500's performance numbers were often traction-limited, resulting in a 0-60 time not much better than the Mustang GT. To deal with this problem, SVT engineers revised the six-speed manual transmission's gearing in an effort to make the GT500's power more usable. SVT ditched the 3.55 final drive ratio for a 3.31 final drive, and then optimized every gear (except fourth) to better use the newfound torque. SVT further beefed up the drivetrain with a dual-disc clutch and carbon-fiber drive shaft.

Click to view GalleryFord rounds out the GT500s performance specs with an SVT-designed launch control system, and new Brembo brakes. The Shelby's new brakes are six-piston in front, and have larger rotors both front and rear to aid in the fight against brake fade.

For those interested in even more performance, Ford will also be offering two performance packages for the Shelby GT500. The Performance Package will include a Torsen limited-slip differential, and an SVT-designed Bilstein suspension system. The Bilstein suspension includes electronically adjustable dampers with two driver-selectable modes: Normal and Sport. Ford says Normal will allow for a more comfortable ride in shoddy road conditions, while Sport will tighten the suspension up, further minimizing body roll and pitch at the track.

Also available when you tick the Performance Package option is the Track Package, which builds on the Performance Package by adding an external engine cooler, rear differential cooler, and a transmission cooler to fight heat soak in high speed and track conditions. The 3850-pound GT500 rides on second-generation Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperCar tires mounted on 19-inch front and 20-inch rear forged aluminum wheels.